Luis García (footballer, born 1972)

For other people with the same name, see Luis García (disambiguation).

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is García and the second or maternal family name is Plaza.

Luis García Plaza (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈlwis ɣaɾˈθi.a ˈplaθa];^[a] born 1 December 1972) is a Spanish retired professional footballer who played as a central defender, currently a manager.

Luis García

García as manager of Getafe in 2013
Personal information
Full name	Luis García Plaza
Date of birth	(1972-12-01) 1 December 1972 (age 52)
Place of birth	Madrid, Spain
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Centre-back
Youth career
	Colegio Amorós
	Atlético Madrid
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1991–1995	Atlético Madrid B	54	(2)
1995	Yeclano	13	(0)
1995–1996	Rayo Vallecano B
1996	→ Talavera (loan)	8	(0)
1996–2000	Benidorm	49	(1)
Managerial career
2001–2003	Altea
2003–2005	Villajoyosa
2005	Altea
2005–2006	Villarreal B
2006–2007	Elche
2007–2008	Benidorm
2008–2011	Levante
2011–2014	Getafe
2014–2016	Baniyas
2017–2018	Beijing Renhe
2018–2019	Villarreal
2019	Beijing Renhe
2019–2020	Al-Shabab
2020–2022	Mallorca
2022–2024	Alavés
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Playing career

In his career, García never played in higher than Segunda División B. Born in Madrid, he finished his development at Atlético Madrid^[1] and, after three seasons with its reserves, moved to Yeclano CF, where he coincided with José Luis Oltra and Paulino.^[2]

Still in the Madrid community, García then represented Rayo Vallecano B, completing his sole season with the club on loan at Talavera CF.^[3] In 1996, he signed for Benidorm CF, spending four years at the Alicante side.

García was forced to retire due to injury in 2000, at only 27.

Coaching career

García took up coaching in 2001, starting with amateurs UD Altea and moving after two years to another club in the Valencian Community, Villajoyosa CF of the third tier, remaining the same amount of time there.^[4]

In 2005–06, after a very brief spell at Altea, García led Villarreal CF's reserves^[5] to the Tercera División championship, but the team failed to gain promotion in the subsequent playoffs. Afterwards, he signed with Elche CF in Segunda División – and also in the Valencia region – being sacked on 7 January 2007 following a 1–1 home draw against Cádiz CF (the team eventually retained their league status).^[6]

After one year with former club Benidorm, García was appointed at Levante UD, helping to a return to La Liga after a three-year absence in his second season.^[7] In the following campaign he led the side to the 14th place, the home highlights being a 2–0 win over Atlético Madrid^[8] and home draws with Real Madrid (0–0)^[9] and FC Barcelona (1–1).^[10]

On 8 June 2011, García signed for Getafe for three years.^[11] He coached the capital outskirts team to the 11th position in his debut season, finishing one better the following year.^[12]

García was dismissed on 10 March 2014, after Getafe only collected four draws in 12 games.^[13] In the following two seasons, he worked in the UAE First Division League with Baniyas Club.^[14][15]

In June 2017, García was appointed as manager of China League One club Beijing Renhe F.C. on a five-month agreement.^[16] He coached the team to promotion back to the Super League in his first season, collecting 13 wins, two draws and three losses; on 9 November, he extended his contract.^[17]

García returned to Villarreal on 10 December 2018, replacing the fired Javier Calleja at the helm of the first team.^[18] After only one month in charge, and no league wins, he too was relieved of his duties.^[19]

On 9 July 2019, García headed back to Beijing Renhe following the resignation of Aleksandar Stanojević.^[20] He left on 18 November following their relegation, having won none and drawn two of 11 games.^[21] Before the end of the year, he found a new job at Al-Shabab FC (Riyadh), ninth in the Saudi Professional League.^[22]

On 6 August 2020, García replaced RCD Espanyol-bound Vicente Moreno at RCD Mallorca in the second division,^[23] winning promotion as runners-up in his debut campaign.^[24] On 22 March 2022, with the club inside the relegation zone, he was dismissed.^[25]

García was appointed at second-tier Deportivo Alavés on 23 May 2022, on a one-year contract.^[26] He achieved promotion in his first season via the playoffs,^[27] then secured survival the following campaign with four games to spare.^[28]

On 2 December 2024, García was relieved of his duties.^[29]

Managerial statistics

As of match played 30 November 2024

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team	Nat	From	To	Record								Ref
				G	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Altea		1 July 2001	30 June 2003	68	35	22	11	111	56	+55	051.47	[30]
Villajoyosa		30 June 2003	30 May 2005	76	31	16	29	80	82	−2	040.79	[31]
Altea		30 May 2005	30 May 2005	0	0	0	0	0	0	+0	!—
Villarreal B		30 May 2005	1 July 2006	46	32	11	3	86	26	+60	069.57	[32]
Elche		1 July 2006	7 January 2007	21	5	7	9	21	27	−6	023.81	[33]
Benidorm		1 July 2007	19 July 2008	40	16	12	12	44	41	+3	040.00	[34]
Levante		20 July 2008	7 June 2011	128	51	34	43	170	170	+0	039.84	[35]
Getafe		8 June 2011	10 March 2014	113	34	29	50	117	164	−47	030.09	[36]
Baniyas		10 July 2014	18 March 2016	63	22	19	22	95	85	+10	034.92	[citation needed]
Beijing Renhe		8 June 2017	10 December 2018	50	22	14	14	67	61	+6	044.00	[37]
Villarreal		10 December 2018	29 January 2019	9	1	5	3	11	15	−4	011.11	[38]
Beijing Renhe		9 July 2019	12 November 2019	11	0	2	9	9	27	−18	000.00	[37]
Al-Shabab		12 December 2019	18 July 2020	13	7	1	5	22	17	+5	053.85	[37]
Mallorca		6 August 2020	22 March 2022	78	35	19	24	95	82	+13	044.87	[39]
Alavés		23 May 2022	2 December 2024	108	44	28	36	119	108	+11	040.74	[40]
Total				824	335	219	270	1,047	961	+86	040.66	—

Notes

1. In isolation, García is pronounced [ɡaɾˈθi.a].